The development of Star Town advanced by leaps and bounds.
Rod gathered a massive amount of resources by various means. The Mahara tycoons were fleeced like simpletons, and their personal wealth was released into the greatest endeavor of humankind.
More than half of the production and construction legions congregated in Star Town for construction work.
Rows of bunkers, towers, and high walls were erected; a large number of Spiritual Power Generators and bed crossbows were transported to the front lines, and even the expensive Spiritual Power Cannons appeared on the defensive works of Star Town.
And at the heart of the Isone Ruins, a new War Fortress was built.
All the major legions and institutions were stationed therein, powerful wartime equipment like the super-sized Spiritual Energy Imager, Spiritual Power Reconnaissance Array, and the central Spiritual Energy Supply Pool were also installed.
Star Town was no longer just a human stronghold; it had become Trolian’s core front-line position in the darkness.
Its equipment was so sophisticated, and its weapons so powerful, that it was nearly on par with the War Fortresses of the outer defense ring.
Internally, Star Town’s development was even more astonishing.
Clusters of houses were built up, with new streets, sewers, water towers, squares, and lighthouses springing up like mushrooms after the rain, and their brilliant lights spread rapidly like wildfire.
All four surrounding regions were also developed.
Vast barley fields and vine areas were established around Ghost Spirit Lake. The life essence of the Holy White Tree and fertile land ensured their healthy growth, harvesting every twelve weeks.
In the lake, a large number of clams were bred. The purified water fostered the rapid growth of these quality aquatic organisms, which were expected to mature in twenty weeks.
A mature clam weighed over two hundred pounds, and after shelling, the meat weighed approximately one hundred and fifty to sixty pounds, very rich and delicious. They grew by feeding only on water grass and mud, known as the "meat pigs of the water," the most successful product of the Life Priest Group.
High-Rank Life Priest Robert successfully crossbred the life source of the clams with pigs, thus creating this miraculous being.
With its emergence, Trolian completely overcame famine. All historical books and recorded texts in Trolian praised it greatly and worshipped it reverently.
Robert himself also successfully obtained the title of a human hero, was written into the textbooks of Trolian, and became the figure that all subsequent Life Priests aspired to emulate.
And the Life Priest in charge of Ghost Spirit Lake was one of his fervent admirers.
He was determined to create another being capable of changing history, just like his idol.
During this time, he had revived a large part of the wreckage beneath Ghost Spirit Lake. Packs of three-headed dogs, eight-legged snakes, and nine-tailed cats roamed wildly in his park area.
But the supreme war weapon he dreamt of did not emerge. Crossbreeding involving humans inevitably led to withering and decay, with not a single success.
The Life Priest believed that it might be due to the insufficient life strength in humans.
He kept changing people, even casting his sights on Rod, wanting some of his bodily fluids.
Naturally, Rod refused and strictly forbade him from conducting crossbreeding experiments on humans, or else he would be sent back to the Royal City to be replaced by someone else to look after the Holy White Tree.
This threat proved highly effective.
The man finally settled down. Not only did he cause no more troubles, but he also revived some butterflies and bees. These beneficial insects were quickly promoted by Rod.
Now, in Ghost Spirit Lake, butterflies and bees could be seen fluttering among the Vine Flowers, creating a dazzlingly beautiful scene with colorful flowers and the fragrance of birdsong.
Below the lake, water pipes had been installed to pump the pure lake water into the water towers for the residents of Star Town to use.
A Master of Terrain from the Royal City rerouted several underground rivers to flow through the roots of the Holy White Tree and into Ghost Spirit Lake, ensuring the lake’s water would not run dry.
Thus, Star Town no longer needed to transport water from the Royal City, and this saved a considerable amount of manpower and resources, as transporting huge water tanks was extremely difficult.
The transformation of the northern Black Water Swamp was also very successful.
The damp mudlands were suitable for planting grass potatoes and berries, and the numerous small ponds were perfect for breeding black cattle.
Beneath the swamp lay a super large Star Light Ruby Vein.
This was an undisturbed vein, also concealed by the Starry Kingdom using Spirit Realm Secret Techniques. Rod used the ability of the "Spirit Boat" to lift the barrier, and everyone was shocked by the exceptionally high quality and massive scale of the vein.
The Royal City sent dozens of Mining Masters to assist Rod in establishing a mining site, and no one tried to challenge Rod’s ownership anymore.
This vein could employ between three to four hundred thousand miners and indirectly support nearly a million people.
On the eastern side, the Underground City officially became a super-large skyscraper after the installation of Spiritual Energy Elevators. It measured over a thousand yards in diameter and nearly seven hundred yards in height with more than two hundred floors and about ten thousand super-large blocks, capable of comfortably housing half a million people.
As a result, Rod had to install over a thousand elevators, but even that was not enough.
He also constructed bridges across the large pit, linking the walls on both sides.
This move proved to be extremely effective. An array of bridges, large and small, were densely interspersed within the pit like a spider web, which also became one of the marvels of Star Town.
On the western side, the Isone Ruins were rebuilt into a war base, with everything related to combat placed there.
Through the Book of Knowledge, Rod knew that several super-large iron-copper veins lay beneath the ruins. Although these conventional veins were not particularly precious, they were still very useful.